document_title: Augusta National Golf Club

question_text: how much does it cost for membership at augusta national

text: Augusta National Golf Club

text: Course[edit]

text: The course was formerly a plant nursery,[10] and each hole on the course is named after the tree or shrub with which it has become associated. Several of the holes on the first nine have been renamed, as well as hole #11.[11]

text:
Hole
Name
Yards
Par

Hole
Name
Yards
Par

1
Tea Olive
445
4

10
Camellia
495
4

2
Pink Dogwood
575
5
11
White Dogwood
505
4

3
Flowering Peach
350
4
12
Golden Bell
155
3

4
Flowering Crab Apple
240
3
13
Azalea
510
5

5
Magnolia
455
4
14
Chinese Fir
440
4

6
Juniper
180
3
15
Firethorn
530
5

7
Pampas
450
4
16
Redbud
170
3

8
Yellow Jasmine
570
5
17
Nandina
440
4

9
Carolina Cherry
460
4
18
Holly
465
4

Out
3,725
36
In
3,710
36

Source:[2][12]
Total
7,435
72

tag: table

text:
Masters Course

Tee
Rating/Slope
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Out
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
In
Total

Par

4
5
4
3
4
3
4
5
4
36
4
4
3
5
4
5
3
4
4
36
72

Masters

455
575
350
240
455
180
450
570
460
3735
495
505
155
510
440
530
170
440
465
3710
7445

Member

365
515
340
170
400
165
330
480
395
3160
450
400
145
455
380
475
145
370
385
3205
6365

text: Lengths of the course for the Masters at the start of each decade:

text:
2010: 7,435 yards (6,799 m)
2000: 6,985 yards (6,387 m)
1990: 6,905 yards (6,314 m)
1980: 7,040 yards (6,437 m)

1970: 6,980 yards (6,383 m)
1960: 6,980 yards (6,383 m)
1950: 6,900 yards (6,309 m)
1940: 6,800 yards (6,218 m)[2]

text: Unlike most other private or public golf courses in the US, Augusta National has never been rated. During the 1990 Masters Tournament, a team of USGA raters, organized by Golf Digest, evaluated the course and gave it an unofficial rating of 76.2. It was re-evaluated in 2009 and given an unofficial rating of 78.1.[3]

text: The golf course architecture website GolfClubAtlas.com has said, "Augusta National has gone through more changes since its inception than any of the world's twenty or so greatest courses. To call it a MacKenzie course is false advertising as his features are essentially long gone and his routing is all that is left." The authors of the site also add that MacKenzie and Jones were heavily influenced by the Old Course at St Andrews, and intended that the ground game be central to the course. Almost from Augusta's opening, Roberts sought to make changes to minimize the ground game, and effectively got free rein to do so because MacKenzie died shortly after the course's opening and Jones went into inactivity due to World War II and then a crippling illness. The authors add, "With the ground game gone, the course was especially vulnerable to changes in technology, and this brought on a slew of changes from at least 15 different 'architects'."[13] Golf Course Histories has an aerial comparison of the architectural changes for Augusta National Golf Club for the year 1938 versus 2013.[14]

text: Among the changes to the course were several made by architect Perry Maxwell in 1937, including an important alteration involving the current 10th hole. When Augusta National originally opened for play in January 1933, the opening hole (now the 10th) was a relatively benign par 4 that played just in excess of 400 yards. From an elevated tee, the hole required little more than a short iron or wedge for the approach. Maxwell moved the green in 1937 to its present location – on top of the hill, about 50 yards back from the old site – and transformed it into the toughest hole in Masters Tournament history. Ben Crenshaw referred to Maxwell's work on the 10th hole as "one of the great strokes in golf architecture".[15]

text: For the 1999 tournament, a short rough was instated around the fairways. Referred to as the second cut, it is substantially shorter than the comparable primary rough at other courses, with an average length of 1.625 inches (4.13 cm). It is meant to reduce a player's ability to control the ball coming out of this lie, and encourage better accuracy for driving onto the fairway.[16][17]

text: Amen Corner[edit]

text: The second shot at the 11th, all of the 12th, and the first two shots at the 13th hole at Augusta are nicknamed "Amen Corner". This term was first used in print by author Herbert Warren Wind in his April 21, 1958, Sports Illustrated article about the Masters that year.[18] In a Golf Digest article in April 1984, 26 years later, Wind told about its origin. He said he wanted a catchy phrase like baseball's "hot-corner" or football's "coffin-corner" to explain where some of the most exciting golf had taken place (the Palmer-Venturi rules issue at twelve, over an embedded ball ruling and how it was handled,[19] in particular). Thus "Amen Corner" was born. He said it came from the title of a jazz record he had heard in the mid-1930s by a group led by Chicago's Mezz Mezzrow, Shouting in that Amen Corner.[20] In a Golf Digest article in April 2008, writer Bill Fields added some new updated information about the origin of the name. He wrote that Richard Moore, a golf and jazz historian from South Carolina, tried to purchase a copy of the old Mezzrow 78 RPM disc for an "Amen Corner" exhibit he was putting together for his Golf Museum at Ahmic Lake, Ontario. After extensive research, Moore found that the record never existed. As Moore put it, Wind, himself a jazz buff, must have "unfortunately bogeyed his mind, 26 years later". While at Yale, he was no doubt familiar with, and meant all along, the popular version of the song (with the correct title, "Shoutin' in that Amen Corner" written by Andy Razaf), which was recorded by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, vocal by Mildred Bailey (Brunswick label No. 6655) in 1935. Moore told Fields that, being a great admirer of Wind's work over the years, he was reluctant, for months, to come forth with his discovery that contradicted Wind's memory. Moore's discovery was first reported in Golf World magazine in 2007, before Fields' longer article in Golf Digest in 2008.

text: In 1958 Arnold Palmer outlasted Ken Venturi to win the tournament with heroic escapes at Amen Corner. Amen Corner also played host to Masters moments such as Byron Nelson's birdie-eagle at 12 and 13 in 1937, and Sam Snead's water save at 12 in 1949 that sparked him to victory. On the flip side of fate, Jordan Spieth's quadruple bogey on 12 during Sunday's final round in 2016 cost him his 2-stroke lead and ultimately the championship.

text: "The Big Oak Tree"[edit]

text: "The Big Oak Tree" is on the golf course side of the clubhouse and was planted in the 1850s.[21]

text: Eisenhower Tree[edit]

text: Also known as the "Eisenhower Pine", a loblolly pine was located on the 17th hole, approximately 210 yards (192 m) from the Masters tee. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, an Augusta National member, hit the tree so many times that, at a 1956 club meeting, he proposed that it be cut down.[22] Not wanting to offend the president, the club's chairman, Clifford Roberts, immediately adjourned the meeting rather than reject the request. In February 2014, the Eisenhower Tree was removed after suffering extensive damage during an ice storm.[23]

text: Ike's Pond[edit]

text: During a visit to Augusta National, then-General Eisenhower returned from a walk through the woods on the eastern part of the grounds, and informed Clifford Roberts that he had found a perfect place to build a dam if the club would like a fish pond. Ike's Pond was built and named, and the dam is located just where Eisenhower said it should be.[24] This is also the location that Roberts committed suicide by gunshot in 1977. At age 83, he had been in ill health for several months with cancer and had a debilitating stroke.

text: Rae's Creek[edit]

text: Rae's Creek cuts across the southeastern corner of the Augusta National property. It flows along the back of the 11th green, in front of the 12th green, and ahead of the 13th tee. This is the lowest point in elevation of the course. The Hogan and Nelson Bridges cross the creek after the 12th and 13th tee boxes, respectively. The creek was named after former property owner John Rae, who died in 1789.[25]

text: Rae's Creek runs in front of No. 12 green, has a tributary evident at No. 13 tee, and flows at the back of No. 11 green. It was Rae's house which was the farthest fortress up the Savannah River from Fort Augusta. The house kept residents safe during Indian attacks when the fort was out of reach.

text: Membership[edit]

text: Augusta National Golf Club has about 300 members at any given time. Membership is strictly by invitation: there is no application process. In 2004, USA Today published a list of all the current members.[26] Membership is believed to cost between $10,000 and $30,000 and annual dues were estimated in 2009 to be less than $10,000 per year.[27]

text: Augusta invited and accepted its first African-American member, TV executive Ron Townsend,[28] in 1990 following a controversy at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club.[6] Shoal Creek, an all-white golf club in Alabama, refused membership to African Americans. The club also faced demands that the PGA Championship not be held there because of racist comments by the club's founder.[29]

text: In his 2012 pre-Masters press conference, Chairman Billy Payne declined to discuss the club's then-continued refusal to admit women.[30][31] He defended the club's position by noting that in 2011, more than 15% of the non-tournament rounds were played by female players who were member guests or spouses of active members.[30] However, on August 20, 2012, Augusta National admitted its first two female members, Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore.[32][33]

text: Notable members[edit]

text: Notable current members include:

text:
Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway[26][34]
Pete Coors, former chairman and CEO of Coors Brewing Company and Molson Coors Brewing Company, current chairman of MillerCoors[26]
Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft[34]
Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League[35]
Pat Haden, former NFL player and former athletic director at the University of Southern California[36]
Lou Holtz, former college football coach[26]
Hugh L. McColl Jr., former CEO of Bank of America[34]
Darla Moore, South Carolina businesswoman[32]
Sam Nunn, former United States Senator from Georgia[26][34]
Sam Palmisano, former CEO of IBM[26][34]
T. Boone Pickens, Jr., oil tycoon[26][34]
Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State[32]
Henry Waite, former Chairman of HUFF Productions
Simon Chirayath, British businessman
James D. Robinson III, former CEO of American Express[34]
Lynn Swann, former NFL player and current athletic director at the University of Southern California[37]
Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric[38]
Matt Rose, former CEO of BNSF Railway
Jack Nicklaus, Hall of Fame golfer, six-time Masters champion, and the only Masters champion who is currently a regular member of the club[39]

tag: ul

text: Recently deceased members include:

text:
Arnold Palmer, Hall of Fame golfer and four-time Masters champion, was also a regular member when he died in September 2016.[39]
Melvin Laird, former United States Secretary of Defense (died November 2016)
Robert Sumner former pastor (died December 2016)
Frank Broyles, former athletic director at the University of Arkansas (died August 2017)[40]

text: Chairmen[edit]

text:
Clifford Roberts (1931–1976)
William Lane (1976–1980)
Hord Hardin (1980–1991)
Jackson T. Stephens (1991–1998)
Hootie Johnson (1998–2006)
Billy Payne (2006–2017)
Fred Ridley (2017–present)

text: In 1966, the governing board of Augusta National passed a resolution honoring founder Bobby Jones with the position of President in Perpetuity.

text: 2002 membership controversy[edit]

text: Augusta National and its Chairman Hootie Johnson are widely known for a disagreement beginning in 2002 with Martha Burk, then chair of the Washington-based National Council of Women's Organizations; the dispute arose over Augusta National's refusal to admit female members to the club.[41] Burk said she found out about the club's policies in a USA Today column by Christine Brennan published April 11, 2002. She then wrote a private letter to Johnson, saying that hosting the Masters Tournament at a male-only club constituted sexism.[42] Johnson characterized Burk's approach as "offensive and coercive".[43][44] Responding to efforts to link the issue to sexism and civil rights,[43] Johnson maintained that the issue had to do with the rights of any private club:[43][45]

text:
“
Our membership is single gender just as many other organizations and clubs all across America. These would include Junior Leagues, sororities, fraternities, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and countless others. And we all have a moral and legal right to organize our clubs the way we wish.[46]
”

text: Burk, whose childhood nickname was also Hootie,[47] claimed to have been "called a man hater, anti-family, lesbian, all the usual things."[42] Johnson was portrayed as a Senator Claghorn type[48]—"a blustery defender of all things Southern".[48]

text: Following the discord, two club members resigned: Thomas H. Wyman, a former CEO of CBS, and John Snow, when President George W. Bush nominated him to serve as Secretary of the Treasury.[42] Pressure on corporate sponsors led the club to broadcast the 2003 and 2004 tournaments without commercials. The controversy was discussed by the International Olympic Committee when re-examining whether golf meets Olympic criteria of a "sport practiced without discrimination with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play".[49] Augusta National extended membership to Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore on August 20, 2012.[32]

text: Green jacket[edit]

text: Every member of Augusta National receives a green sport coat with the club's logo on the left breast. The idea of the green jacket originated with club co-founder Clifford Roberts. Many believe it is because he wanted patrons visiting during the tournament to be able to readily identify members. Since Sam Snead's victory in 1949, the winner of each year's Masters Tournament has received a green jacket, although he does not receive membership. The jacket is presented to the new winner by the winner of the previous tournament. If the previous champion is either unavailable or has won consecutive tournaments, then the current chairman acts as the presenter. Until 1967, the jackets were manufactured by Brooks Brothers and since have been made by Hamilton of Cincinnati, Ohio, with the imported wool produced at the Victor Forstmann plant in Dublin, Georgia.[50]

text: The current Masters champion is the only owner of a green jacket permitted to remove it from the grounds of Augusta National, and only for a period of one year. Before this time limit was in place, the jacket of a few long-past Masters champions had been sold, after their deaths, to collectors. Consequently, the members of Augusta National have gone to great lengths to secure the remaining examples. Now, two jackets remain outside the grounds of Augusta National with the club's permission. When Gary Player first won the Masters in 1961, he brought his jacket home to South Africa. For years the board insisted that Player return the jacket but Player kept "forgetting" or coming up with humorous creative excuses why he did not return the jacket. After becoming something of a running joke, Augusta National's members allowed him to keep it, where it is on display in his personal museum. The second jacket belongs to 1938 champion Henry Picard. Before the traditions surrounding one of golf's greatest awards were well established, the jacket was removed by Picard from Augusta National. It is now currently on display in the "Picard Lounge" at Canterbury Golf Club in Beachwood, Ohio. Along with Snead, the nine previous winners were also awarded green jackets in 1949, and these became known as the "original ten" jackets.[51]

text: Horton Smith's jacket, awarded for his wins in 1934 and 1936, sold at auction in September 2013 for over $682,000; the highest price ever paid for a piece of golf memorabilia.[52][53] Smith died at age 55 in 1963 and it had been in the possession of his brother Ren's stepsons for decades.[51]

text: Caddies[edit]

text: Augusta National employs a staff of caddies to assist members, guests, and professionals. Before 1983,[54] staff caddies were assigned to players at the Masters,[55] and all were black males. Club co-founder Roberts once said, "As long as I'm alive, all the golfers will be white and all the caddies will be black."[7] Roberts committed suicide at Augusta in 1977 and five years later in November 1982, chairman Hord Hardin announced that players were henceforth permitted to use their regular caddies at the Masters.[56] This decision followed an incident that occurred during the 1982 tournament. Following a Thursday rain delay, many of the caddies failed to show up at the proper time on Friday morning. [57] As a result of the confusion, two-time champion Tom Watson and others sent scathing complaint letters to Hardin.[58][59]

text: Twelve players, including then five-time champion Jack Nicklaus, defending champion Craig Stadler, and future two-time champion Ben Crenshaw, employed club caddies in 1983.[59][60] Well into the 1970s, all four majors and some tour events required the use of the host club's caddies;[61][62][63] the U.S. Open had this policy through 1975,[64][65] but by 1980, only the Masters and the Western Open near Chicago retained the requirement.[66] Augusta's caddie staff continues to wear its trademark white jumpsuits year-round.

text: Female caddies are permitted. Most of them are professional golfers' regular caddies, such as Fanny Sunesson. Sunesson is one of the PGA Tour's few female caddies, and has caddied for several players at the Masters, most notably three-time champion Nick Faldo, and more recently Henrik Stenson. The first female caddie at Augusta was George Archer's daughter Elizabeth in 1983, her 21st event carrying the bag for her father.[59][67] Archer, the 1969 champion, tied for twelfth for one of his better finishes at Augusta.

text: During the pre-tournament events in 2007, Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman caddied for Arnold Palmer in the par-3 contest. Fuzzy Zoeller's daughter Gretchen was his caddie for his last year as a competitor in the tournament in 2009. Tennis pro Caroline Wozniacki, ex-fiancée of Rory McIlroy, caddied for him in the par-3 contests of 2013 and 2014.

text: Crenshaw won his 1984 and 1995 Masters titles with Augusta National caddie Carl Jackson.[58][68]

text: Appearances in video games[edit]

text: Augusta National Golf Club is featured in the Japan-exclusive video game franchise Harukanaru Augusta, which started in 1989.[69][70] The games were produced by T&E Soft. One of its last titles Masters '98: Haruka Naru Augusta was released for the Nintendo 64.

text: Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament are also featured in the video game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, and has subsequently featured in later iterations of the game. This is the first time that the course has been officially used in the Tiger Woods franchise.[71][72] Augusta National was also previously used in the 1986 computer game Mean 18, published by Accolade.[73]


document_title: President of Poland

question_text: who was the first elected president of poland

root

text: President of Poland

text: History[edit]

text: The first president of Poland, Gabriel Narutowicz, was sworn in as president of the Second Republic on 11 December 1922. He was elected by the National Assembly (the Sejm and the Senate) under the terms of the 1921 Constitution of Poland. Previously Józef Piłsudski had been "Chief of State" (Naczelnik Państwa) under the provisional 1919 Constitution. In 1926, Piłsudski. who was fed up with regional bickering, staged a coup deposed the president and had the National Assembly elect a new one, Ignacy Mościcki, under the thumb of Sanacja. Just before Piłsudski died, parliament passed the 1935 April Constitution of Poland which incorporated Piłsudski's ideals, but was not in accord with the amendment procedures of the 1921 Constitution.[2] Mościcki continued as president until he resigned following the German invasion of Poland in 1939. Mościcki and his government went into exile first into Romania, where Mościcki was interned, then to Angers in France where Władysław Raczkiewicz, at the time the Speaker of the Senate, assumed the presidency following Mościcki's resignation on 29 September 1939,[3] and then on to London. The transfer from Mościcki to Raczkiewicz was in accordance with Article 24 of the 1935 April Constitution.[4][5]

tag: p

text: Following the invasion of Poland by the Red Army in 1944, Bolesław Bierut assumed the reins of government, and in July 1945 was internationally recognized as the head of state, but it wasn't until 1947 when the Sejm passed an interim constitution based in part on the March 1921 constitution, that Bierut was elected president by the Sejm, the Senate having been abolished the previous year by the Polish people's referendum, 1946. He served until the 1952 Constitution eliminated the office of the president.[6]

text: Following the 1989 amendments to the constitution which restored the presidency,[7] Wojciech Jaruzelski, the existing head of state, took office. In Poland's first direct presidential election, Lech Wałęsa won and was sworn in on 22 December 1990. The office of the president was continued in the Constitution of 1997, which now provides the requirements for, the duties of and the authority of the office.

text: Election[edit]

text: The President of Poland is elected directly by the people to serve for five years and can be reelected only once. Pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, the President is elected by an absolute majority. If no candidate succeeds in passing this threshold, a second round of voting is held with the participation of the two candidates with the largest and second largest number of votes respectively.

text: In order to be registered as a candidate in the presidential election, one must be a Polish citizen, be at least 35 years old on the day of the first round of the election and collect at least 100,000 signatures of registered voters.

text: Powers[edit]

text: The President has a free choice in selecting the Prime Minister, yet in practice he usually gives the task of forming a new government to a politician supported by the political party with the majority of seats in the Sejm (usually, though not always, it is the leader of that political party).

text: The President has the right to initiate the legislative process. He also has the opportunity to directly influence it by using his veto to stop a bill; however, his veto can be overruled by a three-fifths majority vote in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of members of the Sejm (230). Before signing a bill into law, the President can also ask the Constitutional Tribunal to verify its compliance with the Constitution, which in practice bears a decisive influence on the legislative process.

text: In his role as supreme representative of the Polish state, the President has power to ratify and revoke international agreements, nominates and recalls ambassadors, and formally accepts the accreditations of representatives of other states. The President also makes decisions on award of highest academic titles, as well as state distinctions and orders. In addition, he has the right of clemency, viz. he can dismiss final court verdicts (in practice, the President consults such decisions with the Minister of Justice).

text: The President is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces; he appoints the Chief of the General Staff and the commanders of all of the service branches; in wartime he nominates the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and can order a general mobilization. The President performs his duties with the help of the following offices: the Chancellery of the President, the Office of National Security, and the Body of Advisors to the President.

text: Presidential residencies and properties[edit]

text: Several properties are owned by the Office of the President and are used by the Head of State as his or her official residence, private residence, residence for visiting foreign officials etc.

text:
The Presidential Palace in Warsaw is largest palace in Warsaw and the official seat of the President of the Republic of Poland since 1993. The first presidential tenant was Lech Wałęsa when he moved to the Palace from Belweder in 1994.
Belweder, in Warsaw, was the official seat of the President until 1993, and is currently owned by the Office of the President as the official residence of the President and is used by the President and the Government for ceremonial purposes. The palace also serves as an official residence for heads of state on official visits to Poland and other important guests.
Presidential Castle in Wisła in a château built for the Habsburgs as their hunting cottage, which was rebuilt between 1929-1931 and used as recreational residence by President Ignacy Mościcki. Since 2002 it is again a property of the President, restored and opened in 2005 by the President Aleksander Kwaśniewski. It is today a recreational and conference centre for the President and a hotel.
Residence of the President of the Republic of Poland in Łucień.
Manor House of the President of the Republic of Poland in Ciechocinek.
Presidential Residence 'Jurata-Hel' in Hel. The president's Baltic coastal retreat.

text: Acting President of Poland[edit]

text: The constitution states that the President is an elected office, there is no directly elected presidential line of succession. If the President is unable to execute his/her powers and duties, the Marshal of the Sejm will have the powers of a President for a maximum of 60 days until elections are called.

text: On 10 April 2010, a plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and 94 others including many Polish officials crashed near Smolensk-North Airport in Russia. There were no survivors.[8] Bronisław Komorowski took over acting presidential powers following the incident. On 8 July Bronislaw Komorowski resigned from the office of Marshal of the Sejm after winning the presidential election. According to the constitution, the acting president then became the Marshal of the Senate, Bogdan Borusewicz. In the afternoon Grzegorz Schetyna was elected as a new Marshal of the Sejm and he became acting president. Schetyna served as the interim head of state until Komorowski's swearing-in on 6 August.

text: Former Presidents[edit]

text: Within Poland, former presidents are entitled to lifetime personal security protection by Biuro Ochrony Rządu officers, in addition to receiving a substantial pension and a private office. On 10 April 2010, Lech Kaczyński, president at the time, and Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last president-in-exile although not internationally recognized, died in the crash of the Polish Air Force Tu-154 en route to Russia.[9]

text: As of 2016, three former Presidents of Poland are alive:

text:
Lech Wałęsa (1990–1995)
Aleksander Kwaśniewski (1995–2005)
Bronisław Komorowski (2010–2015)

text: Also, three former Acting Presidents are alive:

text:
Bronisław Komorowski (2010)
Bogdan Borusewicz (2010)
Grzegorz Schetyna (2010)

text: Living former Presidents[edit]

text: There are three living former Polish Presidents:

text:
Lech Wałęsa
(1990–1995)
(1943-09-29) September 29, 1943 (age 74)

Aleksander Kwaśniewski
(1995–2005)
(1954-11-15) November 15, 1954 (age 63)

Bronisław Komorowski
(2010–2015)
(1952-06-04) June 4, 1952 (age 65)


document_title: Grease: Live

question_text: who did keke palmer play in grease live

question_tokens: who did keke palmer play in grease live

text: Grease: Live

text: History[edit]

text: Announcement and casting[edit]

text: On April 28, 2014, Fox announced that it had partnered with Paramount Television to produce a live, three-hour televised adaptation of the 1971 musical Grease in 2015.[2] The move came in the wake of similar live musical adaptations that had been produced by NBC, such as The Sound of Music Live! and Peter Pan Live!.[2][3]

text: On January 17, 2015, Fox officially announced that Julianne Hough had been cast as Sandy and Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo and that the special would air on January 31, 2016. Entertainment Weekly reported that the special had been delayed from its original target of Summer 2015 due to difficulties in the casting process.[3] On May 28, 2015, it was announced that Keke Palmer would join the broadcast as Marty Maraschino, one of the Pink Ladies.[4] On July 9, it was announced that Aaron Tveit would star as Danny Zuko in the live TV broadcast, and Carlos PenaVega would play the role of Kenickie.[5] On September 30, 2015, it was announced that Carly Rae Jepsen, Kether Donohue, and David Del Rio would play Frenchy, Jan, and Putzie, respectively.[6] On November 6, it was announced that Jordan Fisher, Andrew Call and Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer would join the cast as Doody, Sonny and Cha-Cha, respectively.[7]

text: Production[edit]

text: Director Thomas Kail envisioned Grease: Live as being a "combination" of elements from the original musical and the 1978 film version of Grease.[8] For instance, the production incorporated songs that were created for the film version, such as a performance of its theme song "Grease (Is The Word)" by Jessie J, "You're the One That I Want", and "Hopelessly Devoted to You", as well as songs that were exclusive to the stage version, such as "Freddy, My Love" and "Those Magic Changes".[9] Kail explained that "very early on as I started imagining what this could be, talking to Marc Platt, our executive producer, and the folks at Paramount, one of the things we really were very focused on was trying to capture the spirit of both the original companies of Grease and that film that has left such an indelible impression on all of us. To try to honor that and pay homage to something that has moved us and we have such a great affection for, and then try to make our own version of it."[10]

text: The production also contained several new songs including the original, "All I Need Is an Angel", which was written for the character of Frenchy (Carly Rae Jepsen) by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey of Next to Normal fame.[9] Joe Jonas's band DNCE made a cameo appearance as Johnny Casino and The Gamblers during the Rydell High dance where they performed The Crickets' "Maybe Baby", as well as a 1950s-inspired remix of their own debut single "Cake by the Ocean" in addition to "Born to Hand Jive" from the stage version and "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" which was previously only part of the film version. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jonas explained that the band was approached by the producers for the role following a concert they had performed in New York City.[11]

text: Grease: Live was broadcast from Warner Bros. in Burbank, California, using two soundstages, half of its backlot, and 44 cameras.[12] Set designer David Korins explained that the medium of a live, television musical would "really show off what theater does best, and also what film and television does best", having constructed a self-contained "cafegymatorium" set that is designed to provide an "immersive", 360-degree experience, as well as traditional theatrical-style stagings. Grease: Live was presented to live studio audiences at each of the three filming locations, who were also directly integrated into relevant scenes as extras on-stage, such as in crowds. Kail explained that he wanted to capture the "feeling" of the audiences at live stage productions, as there was "an energy and an undeniable vitality that real humans give back to real humans that are performing". The Hollywood Reporter believed that the use of live audiences would help to stylistically distinguish Grease: Live from the NBC live musicals that it was patterned after.[10]

text: The price of a 30-second commercial during Grease: Live was set between $300,000 and $320,000. Coca-Cola was signed on as a major sponsor of the special; the sponsorship included product placement of classic Coca-Cola signage and beverages within the special (such as on a vending machine and on the diner set), and sponsored social media content.[12][13] In order to be appropriate for broadcast television and to appease advertisers, several songs were edited for content; Platt stated that his goal was to make Grease: Live a "family-friendly" show, but still wanted to maintain "the appropriate edge" the musical required. Among the edits, "Greased Lightnin'" changed the lyrics to remove several profane and sexual words (edits that original songwriter Jim Jacobs had made to the officially licensed versions many years prior), while the Italian profanity "fongool" was replaced with "be cool" within "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee".[14]

text: Weather issues[edit]

text: The use of outdoor sets for portions of the production led to concerns that it could be affected by weather, especially in the wake of forecasts calling for a 100% chance of precipitation and possible thunderstorms on the day of the telecast. Kail stated that the production did have contingency plans in the event of rain, while Platt stated that his team had considered the possibility of rain into its plans for "many months", and that while safety was the highest priority, the show would still go on, rain or shine.[15][16][17]

text: While prepared for the possibility of rain, wind was also a major factor: at around 3:00 p.m. PT, an hour before the telecast went live, Platt was informed that a particular structure on the outdoor set could not be used for safety reasons. By 3:40 p.m. PT, while the team was in the process of re-staging the opening number to exclude the structure, the rain and wind passed, and engineers cleared the use of the structure—allowing a return to the original staging.[15] The broadcast would ultimately feature references to the conditions: emcee Mario Lopez jokingly introduced "El Niño" as being a "special guest", while the opening number, "Grease (Is the Word)", was performed with the cast holding umbrellas,[18] and during a discussion about having a live broadcast at Rydell High, Principal McGee (Ana Gasteyer) quipped, "Let's just hope it doesn't rain."[19]

text: Death of Greg Hudgens[edit]

text: On the day of the broadcast, Vanessa Hudgens announced on Twitter that her father, Greg, had died of cancer the night before, and that she would dedicate her performance in Grease: Live to his memory.[20][21] Platt told Entertainment Weekly that he was "fiercely proud" of Hudgens' handling of the situation, describing her as a "very determined young woman" who "knows that the show has to go on, as any actor of the theater or in a live event knows. So she decided she would take her feelings of loss and sadness and put them in a box for that afternoon, that she would use them to fuel her performance and she would do it in honor of her father."[15] Additionally, Fox and Paramount allowed the production to be dedicated in memory of Greg; Platt went on to say that "the cast was behind her and we all joined hands and said, 'We're going to live in this moment. Sometimes life interferes. But you have all worked so hard for this moment and we're going to go for it.'"[15]

text: Cast[edit]

text: Main cast[edit]

text:
Julianne Hough as Sandy Young[22]
Aaron Tveit as Danny Zuko[23]
Vanessa Hudgens as Betty Rizzo[22]
Carlos PenaVega as Kenickie[23]

text: Pink Ladies[edit]

text:
Carly Rae Jepsen as Frenchy[24]
Keke Palmer as Marty Maraschino[25]
Kether Donohue as Jan[26]

text: T-Birds[edit]

text:
David Del Rio as Putzie[26]
Jordan Fisher as Doody[27]
Andrew Call as Sonny[28]

text: Special Guests[edit]

text:
Didi Conn as Vi (Conn played Frenchy in the 1978 film)[29]
Barry Pearl as Mr. Stan Weaver (Pearl played Doody in the 1978 film)[29]

text: Musical Guests[edit]

text:
Jessie J as the title song singer[26]
Boyz II Men as the Teen Angels[30]
Joe Jonas and DNCE as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers[31]

text: Other characters[edit]

text:
Mario Lopez as Vince Fontaine[30]
Ana Gasteyer as Principal McGee[30]
Elle McLemore as Patty Simcox[32]
Wendell Pierce as Coach Calhoun[33]
Eve Plumb as Mrs. Murdock[30]
Sam Clark as Leo "Craterface/Hatchetface" Balmudo [34]
Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer as Charlene "Cha-Cha" DiGregorio[28]
Noah Robbins as Eugene Felsnick[34]
Jon Robert Hall as Tom Chisum[34]
Haneefah Wood as Blanche

text: Ensemble[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text:
Carly Bracco
Gregory Haney
Harley Jay
Chris Meissner
Tiana Okoye
Kayla Parker
Dominic Pierson
Cailan Rose

text: Dancers[edit]

text:
Nick Baga
Karen Chuang
Janaya French
Courtney Galiano
Marko Germar
Jeremy Hudson
KC Monnie
Haylee Roderick
Brooke Shepherd
Ade Chike Torbert

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text:
Grease: Live - Music from the Television Event

Soundtrack album by Various artists

Released
January 31, 2016 (2016-01-31)[35]

Recorded
2016

Studio
Warner Bros.

Genre

Rock and roll
musical theatre

Length
46:29

Label
Paramount Pictures

text: The official soundtrack album, Grease: Live - Music from the Television Event, was released on January 31 by Paramount Pictures.[36] The Target edition, including four bonus tracks, was released on March 4.[37] In the show, 23 songs were performed, but only 19 were included in the official soundtrack.[38] "Alma Mater" (performed by Ana Gasteyer and Haneefah Wood), "Summer Nights (Reprise)" (performed by Julianne Hough and Aaron Tveit), "Mooning" (performed by DNCE) and the medley "Rydell Fight Song" / "Cheerleading Tryouts" (performed by Elle McLemore and Julianne Hough) were not included in any version of the album.[39]

text: Track listing[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Performed by
Length

1.
"Grease (Is the Word)"
Jessie J
3:21

2.
"Summer Nights"
Grease: Live cast
3:38

3.
"Freddy, My Love"
Keke Palmer
2:47

4.
"Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee"
Vanessa Hudgens
1:41

5.
"Greased Lightnin'"
Aaron Tveit and Carlos PenaVega
3:16

6.
"Those Magic Changes"
Jordan Fisher and Aaron Tveit
3:52

7.
"All I Need Is an Angel"
Carly Rae Jepsen
3:10

8.
"Beauty School Dropout"
Boyz II Men
3:52

9.
"Cake by the Ocean"
DNCE
2:43

10.
"Maybe (Baby)"
DNCE
1:35

11.
"Born to Hand Jive"
DNCE
4:47

12.
"Hopelessly Devoted to You"
Julianne Hough
3:04

13.
"Sandy"
Aaron Tveit
2:35

14.
"There Are Worse Things I Could Do"
Vanessa Hudgens
2:35

15.
"You're the One That I Want"
Julianne Hough and Aaron Tveit
3:01

16.
"We Go Together"
Grease: Live cast
3:12

text:
Target bonus tracks[37]

No.
Title
Performed by
Length

17.
"Rock n' Roll Party Queen"
DNCE
2:08

18.
"Rock n' Roll Is Here to Stay"
DNCE
2:03

19.
"Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)"
Julianne Hough
1:33

20.
"Grease (Is the Word)" (Karaoke version)
Instrumental
3:22

text: Commercial performance[edit]

text: The album debuted at number 37 on the US Billboard 200,[40] earning 13,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, with just over 9,000 coming from pure sales.[41] It also debuted at number 1 the same week on the Top Album Sales chart.[42]

text: Charts[edit]

text:
Chart (2016)
Peak
position

Australian Albums (ARIA)[43]
85

US Billboard 200[40]
37

US Billboard Top Soundtracks[44]
1

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Grease: Live received mostly positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes listed the special with a 91% rating based on 34 reviews, and an average rating of 8.3/10, stating that "Grease: Live took the pressure and threw away conventionality -- it belongs to yesterday. There was a chance that it could make it so far; we started believin' we can be who we are. Grease: Live is the word."[45] Metacritic listed a weighted average of 74 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[46]

text: Megan Vick of TV Guide felt that Kail had "upped the standard" for live television musicals, and had "successfully managed to combine all the nostalgic elements of Grease that everyone expected while creating a new experience. The set changes and scale of what they were able to accomplish—in a rainstorm no less—were incredibly impressive. Grease is the word, and ratings most likely will be too." While praising "All I Need Is an Angel" for demonstrating Carly Rae Jepsen's capabilities as a singer, Vick felt that the song was too modern for a musical that is set in the 1950s.[47]

text: Jeremmy Gerald of Deadline Hollywood noted that Grease: Live was broadcast "with nary a hitch and one last-minute change in the out-of-doors opening number that paid tribute to the greatest movie musical of all time, Singin' in the Rain". Acknowledging that none of NBC's live musicals had "hit the stratospheric highs of this show", aspects of the production were praised, such as the live audiences and stage design. Vanessa Hudgens was judged to have "stolen" the show, and that Aaron Tveit and Julianne Hough "couldn't be better matched as the head of the T Birds and the sweet new girl from Utah." In conclusion, Gerald felt that he had "never seen a more inventive interplay between a show and just enough of the mechanics of the deal to make it all the more engaging. That, and the audience that played its essential part in moving Grease Live along with enthusiastic applause replacing the dead air that followed key moments in the earlier live broadcasts, set a new standard for this kind of presentation that will be tough to top."[18]

text: Variety's Maureen Ryan felt that the performance of Hough and Tveit was weak, explaining that "when Danny has all the presence of a glass of milk and even the black-clad Sandy of the final scenes exudes all the sexual danger of a church choir director, well, rest assured that those concerned about the Grease legacies of Travolta and Olivia Newton-John have nothing to worry about." Despite this and other shortcomings, such as audio issues during "Hopelessly Devoted to You", and the "surreality" of the audience's presence in certain scenes, Ryan felt Grease: Live got "most of the big things right", and that "by incorporating a live audience, using creative staging and employing energetic camera work", the production "boasted an impressive sense of momentum and even spontaneity." Of the individual performances, Ryan praised Keke Palmer's, Hudgens', and Carly Rae Jepsen's vocal performances, Elle McLemore's "simply terrific" Patty, Kether Donahue's "infectious joy", and Ana Gasteyer's "beautifully droll timing" as Principal McGee. She concluded that "If Fox can get the lead casting right in future and snag Kail again, audiences will surely be hopelessly devoted to the network’s next live endeavor."[48] Writing in USA Today, Robert Bianco noted various positive and negative aspects of the broadcast. While he praised performances by the supporting cast, he lamented "the progressive dumbing-down of the material. A Broadway musical that originally spoofed our rose-tinted-glasses view of the '50s has turned into a nostalgic wallow, leaving the show with an odd mix of tones – and in this particular version, a book that sometimes seemed to get lost between songs and inside jokes. ... it was often so flatly acted" that the "kinetic", "visually impressive" musical numbers came as a "much-needed relief". Nevertheless, he felt that the production "sprang to life at the end."[49]

text: Ratings[edit]

text: Grease: Live was seen by 12.18 million viewers, with a 4.3/13 share in the 18–49 demographic, making it the most-watched program of the night. The special brought Fox its best ratings of the 2015–16 television season since the second season premiere of Empire in September 2015, which was seen by 16.18 million viewers. The overall and demographic ratings also beat NBC's December 2015 presentation of The Wiz Live!, with 6% higher viewership overall, and 30% higher 18-49 ratings. While both competed against NFL games, The Wiz competed against a regular-season Thursday Night Football game on CBS, and Grease against the Pro Bowl on ESPN. Over 1.2 million Twitter posts were made throughout the airing, with most providing condolences for Hudgens' father.[50] An encore of Grease: Live on March 27, 2016, Easter Sunday,[51] was seen by 1.54 million viewers.[52]

text: TiVo Inc. estimated that Hudgens' solo of "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" was the most replayed scene of the special.[53]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Award
Category
Recipient
Result

Primetime Emmy Awards [54]
Outstanding Special Class Program
Marc Platt, Thomas Kail, Alex Rudzinski, Adam Siegel, and Greg Sills
Won

Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special
Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski
Won

Outstanding Casting for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special
Telsey + Company
Nominated

Outstanding Costumes for a Variety, Nonfiction, or Reality Program
William Ivey Long, Paul Spadone, Nanrose Buchman, Gail Fitzgibbons, and Tom Beall
Nominated

Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special
Mary Guerrero, Kimi Messina, Gail Ryan, Jennifer Guerrero, Dean Banowetz, and Lucia Mace
Nominated

Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special
Zena Shteysel, Angela Moos, Julie Socash, and Alison Gladieux
Nominated

Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Nonfiction, Event, or Award Special
David Korins, Joe Celli, and Jason Howard
Won

Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special
Al Gurdon, Travis Hagenbuch, Madigan Stehly, Will Gossett, and Ryan Tanker
Won

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special
Biff Dawes, Eric Johnston, Bob LaMasney, Pablo Munguia, Kevin Wapner, John Protzko, John Garlick, and Barrance D. Warrick
Nominated

Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special
Eric Becker, Bert Atkinson, Keith Dicker, Randy Gomez, Sr., Nat Havholm, Ron Lehman, Dave Levisohn, Tore Livia, Mike Malone, Adam Margolis, Rob Palmer, Brian Reason, Damien Tuffereau, Easter Xua, Chris Hill, and Matt Pascale
Won

2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards
Best Musical Moment
"You're the One That I Want", Ensemble
Won

text: International broadcasts[edit]

text: In Canada, Grease: Live was aired by CTV, in simulcast with the Fox broadcast.[55] The special aired on February 2 in Australia (Nine Network),[56] February 3 in the United Kingdom (ITV2),[57][58] February 5 in New Zealand (TV3),[59] February 7 in Norway (FEM),[60] February 20 in Denmark (TV2 Fri),[61] and in Italy March 3 (subtitled), August 21 (dubbed) (Rai 4).[62] In Latin America, it was broadcast by FOX Family on April 24, 2016. It was broadcast in Sweden by the public service network (SVT1) on June 12, 2016. It was broadcast in The Netherlands by rtl 8 on July 22, 2016. In Singapore, it was broadcast on Mediacorp Channel 5 on Christmas night, December 25, 2016. In France, it was broadcast on 6ter on December 26, 2016.[63]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Grease: Live was released on DVD and Digital HD, March 8, 2016.[64]


document_title: John Wick

question_text: who plays john wick's wife in movie

question_tokens: who plays john wick 's wife in movie

text: John Wick

text: Plot[edit]

text: After John Wick loses his beloved wife Helen to a terminal illness, he receives a beagle puppy named Daisy, per Helen's instructions, to help him cope with her death. He connects with the puppy and they spend their day driving around in his vintage 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1. At a gas station, he encounters a trio of Russian gangsters whose leader, Iosef Tarasov, insists on buying his car, but John refuses to sell it. The mobsters follow John to his home that night, knock him unconscious, steal his car, and kill Daisy.

text: Iosef takes the Mustang to a chop shop run by Aurelio to have the VIN changed. Aurelio recognizes the car and, upon learning that Iosef stole it from John, punches him before throwing him out of his shop. John visits Aurelio, who tells him Iosef is the son of Viggo Tarasov, the head of the Russian crime syndicate in New York City. Viggo, informed by Aurelio of Iosef's actions, beats and berates Iosef, explaining to him that John Wick was his best assassin, nicknamed "Baba Yaga." When John wanted to retire and marry Helen, Viggo gave him an "impossible task", implied to involve multiple assassinations. John succeeded, establishing the Tarasov syndicate.

text: Viggo tries to talk John out of seeking retribution, but John silently refuses. Viggo then sends a twelve-man hit squad to John's house, but John kills them all and has the bodies professionally removed. An unsurprised Viggo places a $2 million bounty on John's head and personally offers the contract to Marcus, John's mentor. John seeks refuge at the Continental Hotel, which caters exclusively to the criminal underworld and permits no "business" on its premises. Viggo doubles the bounty for those willing to break the rules to kill John at the Continental.

text: John learns from Winston, the Continental's owner, that Viggo has Iosef protected at his nightclub, the Red Circle. John enters the Red Circle and kills his way to Iosef, but Viggo's henchman Kirill waylays John, allowing Iosef to escape. John retreats to the Continental to tend his injuries. Ms. Perkins, an assassin and former acquaintance, sneaks into John's room to kill him, but Marcus alerts John, allowing him to subdue Perkins. He forces Perkins to reveal the location of Viggo's front, knocks her unconscious and leaves her with fellow assassin Harry to await punishment. However, Perkins frees herself and kills Harry.

text: John travels to the Little Russia church which serves as Viggo's front and destroys Viggo's cache of money and blackmail material. When Viggo and his team arrive, John ambushes them, but he is subdued and captured. Viggo taunts John for thinking he could leave his old life behind. Before John can be killed, Marcus intervenes again, allowing John to free himself, kill Kirill, and accost Viggo. Under John's gunpoint, Viggo reveals Iosef's location to him. John then travels to Iosef's "safe house" and kills him.

text: Perkins sees that John and Marcus have been in contact and tells Viggo, who has Marcus tortured before executing him in his home. Viggo calls John to report this, planning to have Perkins ambush him. Perkins, however, is called to a meeting with Winston, who has her executed for breaking the Continental's rules.

text: Winston calls John to inform him that Viggo is planning to escape by helicopter, and John races to the harbor, killing Viggo's remaining henchmen before engaging Viggo in a fistfight on the dock. Viggo pulls a knife and John allows himself to be stabbed, surprising Viggo. John then disarms and fatally wounds Viggo. Wounded himself, John stops at a waterfront animal clinic to treat his wound and takes with him a pit bull puppy which was scheduled to be euthanized. John and the dog walk home on the boardwalk where he had his last date with Helen.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Keanu Reeves as John Wick

text: Michael Nyqvist as Viggo

text: Alfie Allen as Iosef

text: Adrianne Palicki as Ms. Perkins

text: Bridget Moynahan as Helen Wick

text: Dean Winters as Avi

text: Ian McShane as Winston

text: John Leguizamo as Aurelio

text: Willem Dafoe as Marcus

text: The cast also includes David Patrick Kelly as a "cleaner" named Charlie, Randall Duk Kim as a doctor with a select clientele, Lance Reddick as Charon, a concierge at The Continental Hotel who always seems to know what the client needs, Munro M. Bonnell as a Russian Orthodox priest who protects the vault where Viggo stores his valuables,[47] Omer Barnea as Gregori and Toby Leonard Moore as Victor, Iosef's friends and bodyguards,[47] Daniel Bernhardt as Kirill, Viggo's henchman;[48] Bridget Regan as Addy,[47] Keith Jardine as Kuzma,[48] Tait Fletcher as Nicholai,[48] Thomas Sadoski as Jimmy,[48] Clarke Peters as Harry,[47] Kevin Nash as a bouncer named Francis at the Red Circle nightclub,[49][50] Gameela Wright as a delivery woman,[48][51] Vladislav Koulikov as Pavel,[48][51] Pat Squire as an elderly woman,[48][51] Vladimir Troitsky as a team leader,[48][51] and Scott Tixier (uncredited) as a violinist.[52][53]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text:
"Making a movie is actually fairly easy. Making a good one is much harder. It was a huge learning experience and I'm very proud of it. We stretched our schedule to the absolute limits. We fought for what we believed in, and chose to make a story-driven, character-driven action movie. That's why I chose to do it. This was an opportunity to do something that wasn't just about cars, explosions, fire and fights. Yes, John fights; yes, he shoots guns; and he drives a car very fast, but the focus was always trying to do something cinematically different."

— Chad Stahelski, on the experience of directing John Wick[16]

tag: div

text: The premise for John Wick was conceived by screenwriter Derek Kolstad who began work on a treatment about a retired contract killer coming out to seek vengeance, entitled Scorn.[54] After one month of work, he had completed the first draft of the screenplay and once he had addressed several issues he pitched the script to various clients, garnering at least three offers.[55] When he first started thinking about writing the script, Kolstad was influenced by film-noir classics and the themes of revenge and the antihero and the occurrences of what may play out if "The worst man in existence found salvation […] When the source of his salvation is ripped from him […] Do the gates of Hades open?"[16][56] For Kolstad, both Alistair MacLean and Stephen King were influences in the creating of the story of John Wick in terms of characterisation and world-building, stating, "[…] MacLean could build a world, and King could surprise you by what the main character truly was capable of."[27]

text: On December 3, 2012, it was announced that Thunder Road Pictures had bought the script with discretionary funds, with Kolstad agreeing due to Thunder Road's plan to make the film straight away.[6][55][57] When Basil Iwanyk, head of Thunder Road Pictures, had first read Kolstad's original screenplay, he was immediately drawn to the main character of Wick, stating, "The tone of the script was subversive and really fun."[18] He also admired the emotional weight and action theme of the piece. After Thunder Road had optioned the script, Kolstad spent additional months refurbishing the script with them. In the original script, the character of John Wick was written with "a man in his mid-sixties" to play the role, given the title character’s fabled reputation as a revered and respected assassin.[18] However, Iwanyk was of the belief that this was irrelevant and bent the original vision ever so slightly, stating, "Instead, we decided to look for someone who is not literally older, but who has a seasoned history in the film world."[58]

text: On May 7, 2013, it was announced that Keanu Reeves began negotiations to star in the piece in April, and was later confirmed as the film's male lead, after Iwanyk and Peter Lawson of Thunder Road showed him the script,[16] to which he thought to be full of potential and further stated, "I love the role, but you want the whole story, the whole ensemble to come to life."[59] Reeves and Kolstad had worked closely together on further developing the screenplay and the story,[55][60] with the screenwriter stating, "We spent as much time developing the other characters as we did his. [Keanu] recognizes that the strength of the storyline lies in even the smallest details."[61] The title of the film was later changed from Scorn to John Wick, as according to Kolstad, "Keanu liked the name so much, that Reeves kept telling everyone that he was making a film called 'John Wick'", and the producers agreed, changing the title.[26]

text: During story discussions for John Wick, Reeves contacted Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who he originally met on the set of The Matrix,[62] to see if they were interested in choreographing or directing the action of the piece.[14][63] Reeves admired Stahelski and Leitch's work performing, choreographing and coordinating, stating that, "When I got the script... I immediately thought of Chad and Dave for the action design, but I was secretly hoping they'd want to direct it."[63] he then added, "I knew that they would love the genre and I knew that they would love John Wick. And I thought the worlds that get created – the real world and then this underworld – would be attractive to them, and it was."[14][63] After reading Kolstad's script, Stahelski and Leitch, told Reeves they wanted to tell the story of John Wick, as they both had a desire to get involved with a project as directors. Impressed with Reeves' enthusiasm and the quality of the script, Stahelski and Leitch, told him that they wished to direct the film and later presented him with their version of the story which was based on "[…] the idea of [Wick] as an urban legend, a thriller assassin movie with a realistic vibe and an otherworldly setting."[16] Impressed with their concept, Reeves supported the pair, and Stahelski and Leitch pitched the idea to the studio, who hired them to direct, contrary to their initial request of directing the film's second unit.[14] On 7 May 2013, it was announced that Stahelski and Leitch were to direct the film together as a team,[64][65] though it was later ruled by the Directors Guild of America that only Stahelski would be given the director credit.[5] Leitch was credited as a producer.[66]

text: Stahelski acknowledged the challenges in balancing the action with that of both the pace and tone,[45] stating "we're good at doing that for a particular scene when doing action, but here, we had to take a through-line for the entire film." He acknowledged also that action itself should be a collaborative entity with the story, as opposed to being a thing of its own: "If you're clever with the story and clever with the action, they can fuse together."[67] "We don’t see any real separation that the story stops, and then we just wow you with action. If it all fits and weaves together and helps you love the character, that's what we want to do. … Demand more out of your action, as an audience."[44][67]

text: It was remarked by Kolstad, once Reeves, Stahelski and Leitch were officially on board, that during the period of January 2013 to September 2013,[68] he was still working on the final drafts of the screenplay and the modifying of it, to which he described in the general sense a rather "relentless process" further stating, "[…] it needs to be in order to get everyone’s vision in check."[68][69]

text: On September 12, 2013, Willem Dafoe was confirmed to have been cast in the role of Marcus "[…] a close friend of Wick. He was the one who encouraged Wick to leave the life after his wife dies."[70][71] On 19 September 2013, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki and Dean Winters were later confirmed to be a part of the film's supporting cast.[72][73] On 14 October 2013, Bridget Moynahan had joined the cast of Stahelski and Leitch's film in the role of John Wick's wife from whom "the beagle puppy, Daisy, was a posthumous gift to John."[74][75][76] On 15 October 2013, Jason Isaacs had joined the cast, portraying David.[77][78][79] On 27 November 2013, Daniel Bernhardt was confirmed to have joined the cast of Stahelski and Leitch's John Wick, playing Kirill, "a formal Russian military commander who is Viggo's henchman."[80] Stahelski and Leitch are hoping for more opportunities behind the camera,[81] with Stahelski himself stating, "Our focus has always been to be filmmakers first and department heads second" and "Now we're following our passion and our dream".[82][83]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Principal photography was confirmed to have begun in New York City, with an expected late 2014 release, with an original shooting schedule meant to have occurred from 25 September to 5 December.[84][85] On 14 October 2013, shooting began in Mill Neck, New York,[86] with the filming process scheduled to continue in and around New York City and greater New York area.[75][87]

text: On August 26, 2013, Lionsgate announced that they were looking for "a high-end glass house with a water view" that was located in Nassau County, additionally with a scene or two being shot in Long Island.[88] On October 6, 2013, filming occurred next door to the Flatiron School, on 11 Broadway.[89] Filming moved to Brooklyn on October 24, with filming occurring on 6th Avenue between Union and Carroll Street, President Street between 6th and 7th Avenues and Carroll Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.[90] Additionally filming later occurred at the St. Francis Xavier Church on 6th Avenue.[91][92] On October 28, 2013, a scene was shot CITGO gas station, 501 N. Highland Ave in Upper Nyack, whilst also shooting footage at Route 9W and Christian Herald Road.[93][94]

text: On November 1, 2013, filming took place in lower Manhattan at 1 Wall Street Court, was used for the exterior of The Continental hotel. On November 12, 2013, some scenes were shot on 25 Broadway,[95] and in downtown Manhattan on Beaver Street by Broad Street.[96] Filming also took place at W 43rd Street and 8th Avenue, on November 13, in Manhattan,[97] and club scenes for John Wick have been filmed on W 27 Street, with November 15 being the last night schedule at the location.[98] On November 21, 2013, it was announced that a bath house scene was scheduled to be filmed on November 24, December 4 and December 5.[99] Other shooting locations included Tribeca, on November 20, which a chase scene was filmed on Church Street.[100] It was also reported, on November 27, that filming had been set up on E 83rd and 3rd Street on the Upper East Side.[101][102]

text: On December 2, 2013, a three-week Upper East Side shoot was scheduled until December 22, with Keanu Reeves and Willem Dafoe filming several scenes.[103] Filming continued to shoot in Tribeca from December 3 to December 5, with the notification placed on Church and Franklin.[104] After the Tribeca shoot, the crew moved to Long Island on December 6 to film a funeral scene.[105] Additional filming was reported on December 13 for Chambers Street, Worth Street and Lafayette Street.[106] On December 19, Reeves was filming in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.[107]

text: Principal photography was confirmed to have ended on December 20, 2013,[108] with post-production beginning on January 10, 2014.[109]

text: According to directors commentary, their first cut of the movie was 2 hours and 20 minutes long. They didn't reveal much about approximately 39 minutes of footage that was cut out of the movie but they did mention that the ending fight between John and Viggo was longer but was cut down after they both acknowledged that Viggo shouldn’t really pose a big physical threat to Wick. Also, David Leitch said how "There’s a ton of great shots on the cutting room floor that’s just Keanu walking in cool environments."[110]

text: Cinematography[edit]

text:
"Having the ALEXA XT with in-camera ARRIRAW is like going to back to an ARRICAM or an ARRIFLEX 435, which is amazing."

— Cinematographer Jonathan Sela, on the usage of ALEXA XT on John Wick[111]

text: The film was shot digitally with Arri Alexa XT in a distributed aspect ratio of 2.39:1.[112] Cinematographer Jonathan Sela himself chose to work with Arri Alexa XT cameras due to discussions regarding the look of the film John Wick, thus he pushed for a mix of ARRICAM and ALEXA which allowed, in turn, the blend of film and digital.[111] "Everybody loved the idea but when you run the numbers of having two packages and also the cost of film, it gets too expensive, so we decided to work entirely with the ALEXA. It's the camera I've used on commercials so I knew I was comfortable with the ALEXA and I knew I liked it."[111] Sela spoke of the idea that Stahelski, Leitch and himself wished to achieve a visual contrast between John Wick's normal life and the other of which he's drawn back into the underworld of assassins. "We wanted the first look to be soft and clean, and the second to be grittier, darker and sharper. For cost reasons we were shooting with just the one camera format, so I used different lenses and contrasting camerawork to create these two distinct looks." He describes the first section of the film as being far more static by stating that, "the camera never stops moving".[113] For John Wick he had decided on using both anamorphic and spherical lenses, to which he combined a set of Hawk V-Lite Vintage '74 anamorphics with that of Cooke S4 sphericals. The initial plan was to use the anamorphic and spherical lenses in the first and second parts, respectively, to create the visual contrast, however, he decided against such a course of action, as he stated, "[…] once we were shooting we felt that the camerawork was enough to separate those two worlds and we ended up using the anamorphics mainly for day work and the sphericals for night work."[111] Sela praised Hawk's Vintage '74 as "beautiful", however, highlighting that they flare considerably which would have become overbearing during night-time shooting. Equally, Sela added, "In daylight they gave us a hazy look and reduced the contrast, which helped make the day scenes seem much more cinematic to me."[111]

text: According to Sela, on-board ARRIRAW recording with the ALEXA XT cameras made a considerable difference with camerawork, stating, "Having the ALEXA XT with in-camera ARRIRAW is like going to back to an ARRICAM or an ARRIFLEX 435, which is amazing." There was a considerable amount of handheld camera work on the second section of John Wick and usage of the ALEXA M allowed filming "to squeeze through the window or into restricted spaces" to occur, especially for the car scenes.[111] Sela was recording ARRIRAW and used the whole sensor area of ALEXA's 4:3 for the anamorphic scenes, which allowed for the maximisation of the image quality for a 4K cinema release. Of such a decision the following was stated, "Shooting in ARRIRAW and having that extra sensor area helps most when you need to manipulate the image; you'll notice it when you have to adjust the color or contrast in a scene because you simply have more information to work with."[111]

text: Design[edit]

text: Costume design[edit]

text: Costume designer Luca Mosca explained that Wick had to possess a piece of attire that had to be worn throughout almost the entire production of the film, to which he then added, "Then we had to tailor it perfectly and make it sleek and timeless enough to fit into this perfect world." Due to the nature of the world Stahelski and Leitch created, Luca had to create a statement for every character based on their costume.[17] Reeves remarked praise for the costume designer, to which he highlighted Luca's ability to give the pieces of clothing meaning, if only subtle; "All the different shades of black that Luca used gave it a lot of overtones. It's funeral and it's priestly. It's also very chic, but it doesn't call attention to itself. When I put on the suit, it definitely affects me."[42] Initially the idea was to place the villains of the piece in combat gear, but later they decided against that due to the principle that they have to be placed in suits, with Leitch quoting Luca, "It is about men in suits."[114]

text: Production design[edit]

text: John Wick features not two worlds, but instead "two of everything", stated production designer Dan Leigh on the contrast of the worlds, speaking in jest.[17] Leigh added, "I approached the story as more of a fable, which ties into the graphic-novel idea. The visual manifestation of that is something that transcends reality. The light is a little bit different. There’s texture in the air. There are unexpected objects everywhere."[115]

text: Sound design[edit]

text: James Bolt and Martyn Zub were the re-recording mixers. Mark Stoeckinger was the supervising sound editor.[116]

text: Production sound mixer Danny Michael had used Sound Devices' 788T-SSD Digital Recorder[117] and CL-WiFi[117] as sound devices, additionally with a Lectrosonics VRT-Venue System, Lectrosonics radio mics, Schoeps CMC-6U and CMIT-5U microphones, a Cooper Sound 208 mixer, Blackmagic dual seven-inch monitors and a Denecke Dcode GR-1 as the main time clock for John Wick.[117] Due to John Wick being an action-oriented piece, it required a lot of sound effects, as well as "file-based workflow".[118]

text: For Michael, the 788T-SSD's ability to swap removable storage was an advantage, due to him simply supplying his CompactFlash to the post-production company Light Iron, in order for them to process the raw unedited footage on the set.[118] Michael stated, "I was basically handing over my sound every time a camera roll changed, to a person who was literally five feet away from me" adding that,[119] "They then took my material and synced it with what was coming off the cameras, on the spot. We would rotate CF cards throughout the course of the day."[119]

text: Visual effects[edit]

text: Jake Braver was the overall Visual Effects Supervisor and visual effects company Spin VFX worked on most of the visual effects on John Wick.[120]

text: Music[edit]

text: The musical score to John Wick was composed by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard, with on-screen violin music performed by Scott Tixier.[121] The film also features a few pieces of additional music such as Marilyn Manson's "Killing Strangers" and T-Bo and Bengie B's "Get Money". The original soundtrack album, John Wick: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, was released digitally on October 21 and received a physical format release on October 27 by Varese Sarabande Records.[122] In addition to Bates and Richard's score, the album features music by artists such as Ciscandra Nostalghia, The Candy Shop Boys, and M86 & Susie Q. Le Castle Vania also provided additional music for the score.[121][123]

text: Influences[edit]

text: Director Chad Stahelski said influences on John Wick included The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Point Blank (1967), Le Cercle Rouge (1970), and The Killer (1989).[124]

text: Stahelski said about The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, "Look at Clint Eastwood in [the film] – there is so much back-story unsaid there. We're big fans of leaving it to your imagination. We just give you some gold coins, and then it's, "Where do the gold coins come from?" We'll get to that. Have your imagination do some work there."[24] He also said Point Blank (1967) influenced John Wick: "One of the biggest inspirations for the film was Point Blank. We watched it on a loop in our office and there are a couple homages to that [in John Wick]."[125] Park Chan-wook's The Vengeance Trilogy (2002–2005) and Lee Jeong-beom's The Man from Nowhere (2010) influenced the film due to "[their] minimalist composition and graphic nature."[126]

text: For screenwriter Derek Kolstad, both Alistair MacLean and Stephen King were huge influences in the creation of the story of John Wick in terms of characterisation and world-building, stating, with himself stating, "MacLean could build a world, and King could surprise you by what the main character truly was capable of."[127] Outside of films, Stahelski and Leitch drew inspiration from the visual stylings of the '60s and '70s as well as cinematic influences, including Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa, Steve McQueen, Lee Marvin, William Friedkin and Sam Peckinpah.[24] With Stahelski himself stating, "All the way back to Kurosawa up to Sergio Leone. We like the spaghetti western sensibility there, some of the composition." Albeit inspiration and emulation from the noir film genre, Stahelski too added that, "Noir maybe was sort of less impactful for us than the other sort of westerns and Kurosawa and things like that. I think we wanted to make this hard-boiled character."[124][125][128]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The official website for John Wick debuted on August 15, 2014 introducing a marketing campaign and interactive layout to promote the film. The website streamed an audio file as well as containing interactive games such as "The Red Club Club" and "Revenge Ride".[129] Lionsgate also provided information on the cast and crew as well as a gallery and video section.[130] The first images debuted on August 21, 2014 featuring Reeves' as Wick.[131] With the release Liongate confirmed the film being set for a "sudden release" on October 24, 2014.[132] On September 10, 2014, the teaser poster was released as well as the confirmation date of the expected teaser trailer.[133] The teaser trailer for John Wick debuted September 12, 2014.[134] The theatrical release poster and the final theatrical trailer were both released on September 30, 2014, by both Stahelski and Leitch on an 'Ask me anything' Reddit session.[135]

text: Lionsgate had provided Collider.com and Moviepilot, on October 2, 2014, with a prize pack to give away to various readers, which included Assassin's Creed Unity, a Fandango gift card for $25, a Lionsgate DVD 3-pack with Dredd, Gamer, and Rambo, and a John Wick poster and T-shirt.[136][137] On October 6, 2014, the official website for John Wick had been updated to include three trailers, photographs with John's story as well as individual cast photos and mini-biographies.[138] The IMAX TV spot trailer for John Wick debuted October 6, 2014, featuring new footage of the film.[139] Carl F. Bucherer was the official partner of the John Wick premiere in New York City on October 13, 2014. Keanu Reeves sported a Manero AutoDate with a light dial, Willem Dafoe wore a Manero AutoDate in classic black, and Daniel Bernhardt with a Patravi ChronoGrade.[140] An IMAX Featurette was released on October 22, 2014 featuring clips relating to the film, accompanied by statements by Reeves, Stahelski, and Leitch.[141]

text: On October 16, 2014, John Wick was featured on the week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly.[142]

text: As part of a cross-promotion deal with Overkill Software, Lionsgate and Thunder Road Pictures, on October 21, 2014, John Wick was added as a playable character in the online game Payday 2, and other elements from the film, including Wick's signature weapons, and skill tree that allowed for dual-wielding of certain firearms.[143] Additionally, Fandango offered people who purchase tickets online at select theaters a free download of Payday 2 through Steam.[144] Variety described Liongate's deal as a "pretty imaginative marketing move".[145] Danielle DePalma, Lionsgate's EVP of Digital Marketing, stated, "We're big fans of Payday 2 and the team at Starbreeze, and we're thrilled to kick off our partnership with such a cool movie"[146] and Bo Andersson Klint, Starbreeze CEO, stated, "We've finally got a real hitman on our team. Being able to play as John Wick in Payday 2 ahead of the movie's release is a great reward for our loyal Payday 2 community."[146]

text: Release[edit]

text: John Wick premiered at the Regal Union Square Theatre, Stadium 14 on October 13, 2014 in New York City,[147] after screening at the Austin Fantastic Fest on September 19,[148][149] where it opened the official sidebar section, Special Gala Screening, to an astounding reception,[150] and the ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles on October 22, 2014.[151] John Wick had its television premiere on USA (Channel) on March 12, 2017.

text: Pre-release screenings[edit]

text: Prior to John Wick's public release, an advance screening of the film was shown on October 9, 2014 at Regal Oakwood in Hollywood, Florida.[152] A screening was shown in advance at the UA Court Street in Brooklyn, New York on October 14.[153] Glendale Designs sponsored a private screening on October 16, 2014 at Harkins Arrowhead in Peoria, Arizona.[154] BackstageOL and Lionsgate hosted an advance screening on October 21, 2014 at Edwards Greenway Grand Palace Stadium in Houston, Texas and at the Santikos Embassy 14 in San Antonio, Texas. Additionally, Lionsgate had announced 40 additional advanced screening's at selected theatres in the United States from October 21 to October 22., as part of a national campaign to promote John Wick.[155] Entertainment One Films held advance screenings in Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria and Vancouver between October 20 and October 23.[156]

text: Theatrical run[edit]

text: John Wick began a wide theatrical release in the United States on October 24, 2014,[157] expanding in successive weeks to France, Australia and Netherlands,[158][159] ahead of a bow in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2015 after expanding throughout Europe.[160][161]

text: On May 22, 2013, Liongate had sold more than $250 million in territorial rights to nine titles at the Cannes Film Festival, including John Wick.[162] Studio Canal will distribute the piece throughout Germany,[163] Metropolitan Filmexport acquired the French distribution rights to John Wick from Lionsgate,[164] Acme Film acquired the distribution rights throughout the Baltic region,[165] Monolith Films acquired the film rights in Poland, Imagem had acquired the Latin American distribution rights,[163] Orange Sky Golden Harvest obtained the film rights in Taiwan and Hong Kong,[161] and Media Pro acquired the rights in the regions of Czech, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria.[161] Entertainment One Films picked up the Canadian distribution rights.[166] On 10 June 2014, Belga Films had acquired the rights to distribute the film within the Benelux region.[167] On 2 July 2014, MK2 Pictures were confirmed to have acquired the Italian distribution rights to John Wick.[163][168] On 8 May 2014, the Huayi Brothers picked up the Chinese distribution rights to John Wick, being one of only four films in the United States that were picked up, with a planned 2015 limited theatrical release.[169] On 11 August 2014, Lions Gate Entertainment acquired from Thunder Road Pictures the distribution rights to John Wick in the United States, with a planned 2014 limited theatrical release,[170][171][172] and in October, Summit Entertainment, a Lionsgate company, distributed the film in the United States[173] On 31 October 2014, it was announced that Warner Bros. Pictures would be distributing the film within the United Kingdom.[174][175] It was later announced that the release date in the United Kingdom was moved back from the first weekend of 2015 to 10 April 2015.[176]

text: On October 2, 2014, Summit Entertainment announced that John Wick would be released in IMAX.[177] Phil Groves, Senior Vice President of IMAX Corp and Executive Vice President of Global Distribution, IMAX Entertainment, stated, "John Wick is a fun action romp, complete with a tremendously entertaining performance by Keanu Reeves that is perfect for IMAX fans."[178] further adding, "There's no better place for audiences to experience the film's stylized storytelling than in IMAX theatres."[179]

text: Box office[edit]

text: John Wick earned $14.4 million from 2,589 locations on its opening weekend,[180] compared to the $7–8 million opening most analysts projected the film would make.[181] By the end of its theatrical run, John Wick grossed $45.7 million in North America and $43 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $88.8 million, against a production budget of $20 million.[182]

text: The film had a wide release in the United States and Canada in selected theatres on October 24.[183] The film earned $5.45 million on its opening day,[184] including $875,000 from Thursday night previews,[185] which was the second highest opening of that weekend, at an average of $5,465 per theater.[186] The film grossed $2.5 million from 347 IMAX locations that weekend, which represented 17.7 percent of the film's overall gross for its opening weekend.[187] The audience was 60% male and 77% were older than 25.[188][180]

text: Outside North America, the film took $1.4 million during its international opening weekend.[189] The film's highest-grossing debuts were in France, Australia, Thailand, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates.[189] On its second week, it added $6.7 million from 33 territories.[190] The film went number one in France ($1.2 million) from 300 screens, number three in Australia ($961,000) from 177 screens, and number ten in the Middle East ($1 million) from a total of 80 screens.[190]

text: Reception[edit]

text: John Wick received generally positive reviews. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 85% based on 193 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Stylish, thrilling, and giddily kinetic, John Wick serves as a satisfying return to action for Keanu Reeves – and what looks like it could be the first of a franchise."[191] Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[192] CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film a "B" grade, on an A+ to F scale.[193][194]

text: Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised the piece by stating, "John Wick is the kind of fired-up, ferocious B-movie fun some of us can't get enough of" and praising the "juicy performances" from Dafoe, Leguizamo, and McShane.[195] Richard Corliss of Time magazine wrote, "Action movies are about movement, and John Wick pursues that goal with remorseless verve."[196] Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club gave the film an "B+" rating, stating, "An underworld fantasy that grafts crisp action on to Rian Johnson-esque world-building, producing one of the more fully realized shoot-'em-up flicks in recent memory." He continued by praising the script of Kolstad, citing that it "distinguishes itself by carefully defining the boundaries of its universe".[197] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A-" rating and called Kolstad's screenplay, "a marvelously rich and stylish feat of pulpy world-building."[198]

text: Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter granted the film praise, "After a marked absence from the genre, Reeves resoundingly returns with an effortless, kinetic style that positions the film extremely well for any potential follow-ups."[199] Peter Debruge of Variety spoke highly of the film, "Back in action-hero mode, Keanu Reeves joins forces with his Matrix stunt double to deliver a slick and satisfying revenge thriller" and described "what a thrill well-choreographed action can be when we're actually able to make out what's happening".[200] Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice said that, "Reeves is wonderful here, a marvel of physicality and stern determination – he moves with the grace of an old-school swashbuckler."[201] Bilge Ebiri of Vulture commented, "It's a beautiful coffee-table action movie."[202]

text: Jeannette Catsoulis wrote, in her review for The New York Times, "Harboring few ambitions beyond knock-your-socks-off action sequences, this crafty revenge thriller delivers with so much style – and even some wit – that the lack of substance takes longer than it should to become problematic." Catsoulis praised Dafoe and Leguizamo as "bringing real subtlety to an all-too-brief scene" and Nyqvist as "marvellous", as well as Stahelski's direction and Sela's cinematography.[203] Forrest Wickman of Slate noted, "John Wick offers a slow burn, sizzling in a manner true to its hero’s surname."[204] Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian scored the film four out of five stars, writing, "A slick, propulsive and ridiculous crime picture that strides like an automatic machine gun."[205]

text: However, Peter Bradshaw, also reviewing for The Guardian, gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated "... Reeves's semi-deliberate zonked deadpan style only really works in juxtaposition with funny dialogue – and this is a pretty humourless and violent film, which grinds on and on with more and more gleaming black SUVs getting trashed."[206] Ealasaid Haas of San Jose Mercury News described John Wick as a "disappointingly standard revenge movie."[207] John Semley of The Globe and Mail called the title "the new name in crummy action cinema," giving it one-half out of 4 stars.[208]

text: Video game[edit]

text: On August 7, 2015, Lionsgate and Starbreeze Studios announced a partnership to develop a first-person shooter virtual reality game based on the film for the HTC Vive/Steam VR. Development was to be headed by Grab Games, with Starbreeze set to publish. WEVR was to develop an introductory experience for the game. The game was released on February 9, 2017, with the name John Wick Chronicles.[209] and have a standalone narrative based on the Continental Hotel.[210][211] Additionally, John Wick content – a free Character Pack and a chargeable Weapons Pack – was released for the Payday 2 games on October 20, 2016, as cross-promotion.[212][213]

text: Sequels[edit]

text: A sequel was released on February 10, 2017,[214] and at the 2016 CinemaCon, Reeves hinted that more sequels had been planned.[214] Following the release of John Wick: Chapter 2 it was reported that a third film is currently in development with a target release of May 17, 2019.[215][216]

text: TV series[edit]

text: In June 2017, it was reported that a prequel series titled The Continental is in active development. The series will focus on the hotel chain that acts as a neutral ground for assassins, as opposed the character John Wick.[217]


document_title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

question_text: where was the movie cant buy me love filmed

text: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: Ronald Miller (Dempsey) is a typical high school nerd living in suburban Tucson, Arizona. He has spent all summer mowing lawns to save up for a telescope. At an opportune moment, he makes a deal with next-door neighbor and popular cheerleader Cynthia "Cindy" Mancini (Peterson). Cindy had borrowed an expensive suede outfit belonging to her mother, without her permission, to wear to an end-of-the-summer/back-to-school party, and needs to replace it quickly after Quint (Cort McCown) accidentally spilled red wine on it at the party. Having few options, save for telling her mother the truth, Cindy reluctantly agrees to Ronald's proposal: he will give her $1000 to purchase a new suede outfit, and she will help him look "cool" by pretending to be his girlfriend for a month, even though she already has a boyfriend named Bobby who is away at his freshman year at the University of Iowa. Ronald feels that he can be a part of the popular crowd if they think Cindy is dating him. Both agree never to reveal their financial arrangement.

text: Ronald then trades his nerdy, yet loyal, friends for the popular, but shallow, students, and undergoes a complete clothing and hair makeover under Cindy's direction. Over the course of the month, they discover each other's individuality and a bond develops organically between the two. Cindy soon starts to genuinely like Ronald and appreciates his company. As he washes her car at her house, she opens up to him, fetching a poem that she had written that means the world to her and letting Ronald read it. She gets to know him better as he reveals his interests in astronomy and space travel. They gaze at the moon and he tells her how, when they are their parents age, "people will be working there and living there... maybe even us." On the last date which Ronald has "paid" for, Cindy hints that she would like to kiss Ronald, signifying that she has real feelings for him, but he misunderstands and assumes she wants to talk about ending their arrangement. They dramatically "break up" in front of a crowd at school, but Ronald takes things too far and says some hurtful things about Cindy in front of their friends. She becomes cool and distant, but warns him that popularity is hard work and he needs to make sure that he "stays [him]self". The next day, Cindy appears disgusted with Ronald when she sees him behaving arrogantly at school, and becomes jealous when she sees him flirting with her best friends Barbara and Patty, whom he later takes out on dates.

text: Ronald continues playing "cool" by hanging out with the jocks and hot chicks. He takes Patty to a dance at school, where he performs a dance he learned from an African cultural show on public television (he mistakenly thought he was watching American Bandstand). At first, the other kids are mystified, but they soon join in, and Ronald's new "trendy" dancing further increases his popularity at school. On Halloween night, he and some other boys drive to the house of Kenneth (Courtney Gains), Ronald's best friend, where the jocks test his loyalty by coercing him to hurl dog feces at Kenneth's house. Kenneth is lying in wait and catches Ronald, but lets him go before his dad can call the police. Kenneth ignores Ronald the next day at school.

text: At a New Year's Eve party at Big John's (Eric Bruskotter) house, Ronald gets drunk and has sex with his date, Iris (DeVasquez), in the bathroom. Iris has a reputation nailing a lot of popular guys. Cindy walks by and hears Ronald reciting to Iris the very poem that she had written and allowed him to read. Devastated, she starts drinking heavily. Later, as a surprise, Cindy's boyfriend, Bobby, shows up at the party, as he still has strong ties to the athletes at the school. After he learns about her relationship with Ronald, through Quint and Ricky (Gerardo Mejia), Cindy is brutally dumped in front of her friends. Even though she tried to explain to Bobby, he paid her to go out with him. Bobby didn't believe her and he still broke up with her. In anger and frustration, she tells the party-goers the truth about her relationship with Ronald and his "cool" pretenses. She scolds her friends for falling for his act and for being "a bunch of followers". "Our little plan worked, didn't it Ronald?" Cindy says as she crushes his popularity, sending Ronald back to the bottom rung of the high school social ladder. Rejected and dejected, Ronald leaves the party alone to spend the night in his garage, crying himself to sleep. When school resumes after the holiday break, he immediately finds himself ostracized as a social pariah. The "jocks" once again tease and throw food at him, and he soon finds that the nerdy crowd has abandoned him also. His distress only deepens when his attempts to reconcile with both Cindy and Kenneth are rebuffed.

text: A moment for Ronald to redeem himself comes when he defends Kenneth against a potentially violent encounter with Quint. Kenneth, while helping Patty (Darcy DeMoss) with her math homework, is approached by Quint, who orders him back to his side of the cafeteria, or take a serious beating. Ronald intervenes, threatening to break Quint's pitching arm if he does not leave Kenneth, who had only been tutoring Patty out of sincere kindness, with no ulterior motive, alone. Ronald points out that the three were all friends at one time: when they were nine, Quint had fallen out of their tree house and broken his arm. Kenneth carried him twelve blocks to the hospital, with Quint crying all the way. He tells Quint that he - Ronald - was desperate to run with the popular crowd, but he had messed up by trying to buy his way in. Kenneth, however, was just trying to make friends by being himself. Ronald goes on to say that the cool/nerd dynamic is "all bullshit, it's tough enough just being yourself", and walks away. Quint apologizes to Kenneth and the two shake hands as the whole school applauds. Ronald finally redeems himself with everyone.

text: Following the incident, Cindy recognizes Ronald's worth, and the two reconcile when she decides to hop on the back of his riding lawn mower instead of hanging out with her popular friends. He asks her to prom and the two kiss as the title song plays. Closing credits roll while the two of them ride off into the sunset on the lawn mower.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Patrick Dempsey as Ronald Miller
Amanda Peterson as Cindy Mancini
Tina Caspary as Barbara
Darcy DeMoss as Patty
Cort McCown as Quint
Eric Bruskotter as Big John
Gerardo Mejía as Ricky
Courtney Gains as Kenneth Wurman
Seth Green as Chuck Miller
Sharon Farrell as Mrs. Mancini
Dennis Dugan as David Miller
Cloyce Morrow as Judy Miller
Devin DeVasquez as Iris
Ami Dolenz as Fran
Will Hannah as Camera Salesman
Lisa Givens as Bambi La Brock

text: Production notes[edit]

text: The film was shot on location in Tucson, Arizona, at Tucson High Magnet School (then known as Tucson High School).[2] The choreography is by Paula Abdul, who makes an uncredited appearance as a dancer.[3]

text: On a date where the main characters begin to bond, they jump the perimeter wall and explore the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group Aircraft Bone Yard on Davis–Monthan Air Force Base that contains 4,400 aircraft. Although the characters say they jump the fence at 309 AMARG (The Boneyard) the actual scene looks more like it was shot at Bob's Air Park, an aircraft recycler just outside the Boneyard, which has since been sold.

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Can't Buy Me Love received mixed reviews from critics. Caryn James, in The New York Times, wrote that the film missed its mark and traded its potential originality for a bid at popularity:

text:
“
Michael Swerdlick, the writer, and Steve Rash, the director... waste a chance to make the much deeper, funnier movie that strains to break through. [The film]... has an identity crisis that's a mirror-image of Ronald's own. He thinks he wants popularity at any price, though he's really a sincere guy. The film thinks it wants to be sincere, when all it truly wants is to be popular, just like the other kids' movies, so it sells off its originality.[4]
”

text: Roger Ebert gave the film a half star out of a possible 4:

text:
“
If 'Can't Buy Me Love' had been intended as a satirical attack on American values—if cynicism had been its target—we might be on to something here. But no. On the basis of the evidence, the people who made this movie are so materialistic they actually think this is a 'teenage comedy'. Can't they see the screenplay's rotten core?[1]
”

text: Rotten Tomatoes has a rating of 50% based on 22 critics.[5] In 2006, it ranked number 41 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.[6][7]

text: Awards[edit]

text: Young Artist Award

text:
Won: Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture—Comedy, Patrick Dempsey
Nominated: Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture—Comedy, Amanda Peterson
Nominated: Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture—Comedy, Tina Caspary
Nominated: Best Family Motion Picture—Comedy

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: In 2013 Intrada Records released Robert Folk's complete score for the film on a limited edition CD paired with David Newman's work for Paradise.[8]

text: Remake[edit]

text: In 2003, Can't Buy Me Love was remade as Love Don't Cost a Thing starring Nick Cannon and Christina Milian.[9] Though the triggering event differs between the two movies, many of the aspects/scenes from the original film are reinterpreted in this remake, such as the eating of raw egg in the Home Economics classroom, as well as the cheerleader telling the bully that he is sitting in the wrong section in the cafeteria that he (the bully) need to sit in the "asshole section" of the cafeteria.


question_text: who has been appointed as the chairman of indian space research organisation (isro)

question_tokens: who has been appointed as the chairman of indian space research organisation ( isro )

text:
Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation

IncumbentKailasavadivoo Sivansince January 14, 2018Inaugural holder
Vikram SarabhaiFormation
1963

text: The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation is the highest-ranked official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the space agency of the India. The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was found in 1962 with Vikram Sarabhai as its chairman. The Indian Space Research Organisation in its modern form was created by Vikarm Sarabhai in 1969.[1] Since then there have been seven chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, with Prof. Satish Dhawan serving the longest term of 12 years as the Chairman.

text:
Name

Term start

Term end

Term length

Ref(s)

Vikram Sarabhai

1963

1972

Nine years

[2]

M. G. K. Menon

January 1972

September 1972

Nine months

[3]

Satish Dhawan

1972

1984

Twelve years

[4]

U. R. Rao

1984

1994

Ten years

[5]

K. Kasturirangan

1994

27 August 2003

Nine years

[6]

G. Madhavan Nair

September 2003

29 October 2009

Six years

[7]

K. Radhakrishnan

30 October 2009

31 December 2014

Five years

[8]

Shailesh Nayak

1 January 2015

12 January 2015

12 days

[9]

A. S. Kiran Kumar

14 January 2015

14 January 2018

3 years

[10]

K. Sivan

January 2018

'

[11]